Inconvenienced senior citizens force Hyderabad travel agency to pay Rs 1 lakh compensation

Underscoring the inconvenience caused to the group, the Ranga Reddy Consumer forum held the agency liable and directed the travel agency to give the 10 per cent discount.
For representational purposes (File | Reuters)
For representational purposes (File | Reuters)

HYDERABAD: In February this year, a group of six senior citizens planned a trip to Gujarat for Shivaratri celebrations and engaged a travel agency to facilitate their travel. But the elders were left fuming as the travel agency, RV Tours and Travels not only refused to give the discount offered to others, but also caused them inconvenience during their journey and stay in Gujarat.

Disappointed but not disheartened, the senior citizens knocked on the doors of consumer forum, leading to the travel agency being ordered to pay a compensation of about Rs 1 lakh. Seventy-year-old BV Sarma and five other senior citizens booked their tickets at Rs 30,600, including GST, per head. But as the day for the tour approached, the travel agency reduced the ticket price for others by ten per cent. When Sarma asked for the same discount be extended to them, the agency rejected their request. To their disappointment, Sarma said, the bus deployed to ferry them too was not in good condition as there were no cushions on the seats, no entertainment facilities.

Among other the complainants raised the complainants was poor hotel hygiene. Ch VS Prakasam, a 65-yearold retired bank employee, said: “We asked the manager to stop at hotels which can accommodate the entire 200 people. But the agency chose the hotels with 40 seating capacity. And forced us to wait for 20 minutes before occupying the hotels,” Prakasam said. Underscoring the inconvenience caused to the group, the Ranga Reddy Consumer forum held the agency liable and directed the travel agency to give the 10 per cent discount by paying Rs 18,600, to pay litigation charges of Rs 6,000 and Rs 60,000.

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